The Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month every year.
The Dragon Boat Festival is also known as the Duanyang Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Chongwu Festival, Dragon Festival, Zhengyang Festival, Tianzhong Festival, etc. The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional Chinese folk festival. The Dragon Boat Festival originated from the worship of celestial phenomena and evolved from dragon sacrifices in ancient times. The origin of the Dragon Boat Festival covers ancient astrological culture, humanistic philosophy and other aspects, and contains profound and rich cultural connotations.
The Dragon Boat Festival, Spring Festival, Qingming Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival are also known as the four traditional festivals in China. Dragon Boat Festival culture has a wide influence in the world, and some countries and regions in the world also have activities to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival. In May 2006, the State Council included it in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists.
The main customs of the Dragon Boat Festival:
1. Dragon boat racing
Before the dragon boat race, the dragon must be invited and sacrificed to the gods. For example, the Guangdong dragon boat must be launched from the water before the Dragon Boat Festival. After worshiping the gods, the dragon head and tail are installed before preparing for the race. People from Fujian and Taiwan go to Mazu Temple to worship. In the past, people worshiped the Dragon Temple in a solemn atmosphere, praying for a good harvest, good weather, getting rid of evil spirits, warding off disasters, everything going well, and for safe boating.
2. Eating rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival
Eating rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional custom of the Chinese people. Zongzi is also called "corner millet", "ancient rice dumpling" and "tube rice dumpling". It has a long history and has many variations. According to records, as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, rice was wrapped in wild rice leaves (wild rice leaves) into the shape of horns, which was called "horn millet"; rice was packed in bamboo tubes, sealed and roasted, called "tube rice dumplings".